CRUMB

US, 1994, 190 minutes, Colour.
Robert Crumb.
Directed by Terry Zwigoff.

This is a portrait, which becomes less and less flattering as it goes on, artist-cartoonist, Robert Crumb, (“Keep on trucking”, Fritz the Cat), made by a close friend and associate, Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World, Bad Ctre). It was nominated for many awards, and won them for best documentary, including the National Board of Review and at Sundance, 1995.

It is a documentary that is more intriguing and fascinating than a feature film.

Crumb is a figure of the 1960s and 1970s, embracing the freedoms and contributing to them (though with frequently misogynistic art and behaviour). His former wife and other women friends appear, often quite critically, while Robert Hughes sees him as a significant 20th-century artist.
But, throughout the film, we also see Crumb with his mother, who is living with his mentally ill brother (who is, perhaps, the most memorable character), and another disturbed brother. His sisters declined to be interviewed.

Not always a pleasant experience but one which way raises all kinds of themes and issues of American society, a potent documentary.